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Five out of five stars

Always Ultra Long Sanitary Towels (available with and without wings)

When it is that time of the month I like to use a combination of tampons and pads and when buying sanitary products I tend to be quite brand loyal to Always. I have been using various Always sanitary towels for years and they are reliable time after time, which in my opinion is exactly what you need.

The Always Ultra long sanitary towels are the same design as a standard Always pad but are about a third longer and have a slightly higher absorption level. I tend to have quite a heavy period so I almost always pick a pad that is slightly larger than the standard, but I still don't want something overly bulky and uncomfortable to wear. The Always Ultra long sanitary towels are just as flat as a standard towel but just that bit longer, making them more suited to my needs, really after I have put one on it is easy to forget about.

Personally, I prefer to buy the Always Ultra long sanitary towels with the added wings option, just because I find that with the extra wings the pad seems to stay in place better and it just gives me that added feeling of security. They are exactly the same as the Always Ultra long sanitary towels but just with added sticky wings that wrap around the sides of your underwear. However, I have never had a problem with the Always Ultra long sanitary pads moving, the sticky area on the back does adhere well to most fabrics and when in place rarely moves. I think the benefit of wings is just that added peace of mind.

The only thing I don't quite like about the Always Ultra long sanitary pad and this probably goes for all the Always products these days is the strange fragrance of pot-pourri you get when you unwrap one of the pads. It's odd. It is also something that I could quite happily live without.

Personally, I tend to use the Always Ultra long sanitary towels for regular daily use but I have had on occasion needed to rely on them over night and they have always managed to be sufficient. For me the Always Ultra long sanitary pads are a good all round basic sanitary towel that is slightly longer than most and is perfect for daytime use.

The Always Ultra long sanitary pads are available from most supermarkets or chemists for around £2 for a packet of 12 or you can buy them in duo packs.

The Always Ultra long sanitary towels without the wings - Four out of five stars.

The Always Ultra long sanitary towels with the wings - Five out of five stars.

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great pads

I wrote a recent tampon review but unfortunately sanitary towels are also required here are my thoughts.

PackagingThese come in the stardard plastic container afforded to pads one you can just open and throw away, all of the different varieties have a different design for what they do. The pads are then in an additional plastic slip that has a small sticky label attached to it (this is so you can use it to wrap the previous one, but I am sure you are aware of this), and there is another peice of paper in the centre keeping this all hygienic.

The PadsThese are sticky on the back so they also stick to underwear, and once they are fitted they stay there. This is the best thing about these pads the ultra long design and the wings mean they do not move, which can be both uncomfortable and embarassing. This also means there is zero leakage. I would never wear a pad during the day (I wear a lot of tight fitting dresses and skirts) but I will wear these to bed at night, I am a wriggler so the fact this doesn't move and absorbs everything perfectly is amazing. These have no scent - but I wouldn't like that anyway - but they make me feel fresh and they absorb as much of the smell as possible.

Price and availabilityI buy these in the bigger packs of £22 for around £3.60, these are a little more expensive than the normal towels but I feel for the great job they do, this is worth it. I will continue to buy them.

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A good, comfortable towel which minimises menstrual misery.

INTRODUCTION

Sanitary products are one of the necessities of life for 50% of the population, and many of the other half have to buy them for their 'other halves' from time to time. The market is huge; the choice vast, so knowing which brands and types are best for you is essential.

I discovered Always towels several years ago. They're not the cheapest but in my opinion they are the most reliable and comfortable out there. When I've got my period I want to be as comfortable as possible, so I'm happy to pay a little more better quality.

Always Ultra Long towels are one of the three types I use for different stages of my period. These are designed for heavy flow, and I use them in the daytime for the main, middle stage of my period when my bleeding is heavy.

The wingless variety come in packs of 14; the winged variety in packs of 12, or 'duo' packs of 22. I frequently see them on promotion as part of a multibuy offer in Superdrug and various supermarkets. The regular price is around £2 for the 12/14 packs and around £3 for the 'duo' packs.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Always Ultra towels come in two 'flavours': with and without wings. The photo above shows those without wings. I HATE wingless towels as they always roll up in my underwear, allowing lots of leakage! When wings were first launched a decade or so ago it was a major relief for me, and I always make sure I buy them in this form. Unfortunately both types are always placed side by side (or even mixed up!) on the shelf in stores, and it's far too easy to buy the wrong ones. The only way I can tell them apart is to consciously examine the artwork on the front. No little tabs on the illustration, no purchase!

All Always towels are colour-coded. The Ultra type have purple packaging, making them easy to identify both in the shop and in my supply box, where I keep various types of towel next to each other. Each towel is individually wrapped, making them both hygienic and easy to carry around. However, I've found out the hard way that these individual wrappers often come undone if the towels are stored loose in a pocket or handbag, so now I always put them in a small ziplock food bag when out and about.

The towels have a main adhesive strip to attach them to your underwear, plus a smaller strip on each wing. I've learned that you have to be very careful placing the wings, as repositioning is almost impossible. The adhesive only seems to work for one 'stick', and if I try to adjust the towel the wings may come undone while I am moving around. I've also discovered the adhesive can leave a gummy residue on my underwear, although this washes out fairly easily.

This product is comfortable to use as the towels are thin and light. They have several layers for maximum absorbency, the top of which is made of a soft, cotton-like material. They also have a stylised swirly pattern worked into the layers, which looks nice but is a bit unnecessary! The central part of the design incorporates the super-absorbent core of the towel which wicks menstrual fluids away from the product edges.

The towels also incorporate 'pearls' to neutralise odours. They do seem to be effective, and I certainly don't feel as stinky as when using some other brands' products.

USER EXPERIENCE

I use more of this type of towel than any other during my period as they are light and comfortable. They are long enough to make me confident I'm not going to leak, but not so long as to make them visible under clothing. These are a practical choice for me and meet my needs.

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A great towel that gives the right amount og support when needed

=Always Ultra Long Sanitary Towels=

Over the years I have used many brands of Sanitary towels, I never really got on with tampons, so having a comfortable towel is an important factor for me, both in the comfort factor and the collection element.

=Always Ultra=After having my daughter 10 years ago, I needed a stronger absorbency and after trying a few different brands, I found Always to be the best, I especially liked the length of the towel, as when you are moving around, you need to know your protected.

=The Packet=The towels come in 14 pack and 32 pack, and they are individually wrapped, depending on the towel, they are green, lilac and purple. On the front of the packet it tells you which one you are buying.The ones I have is the Always Ultra "Long Plus with Wings", and that they have Odour Neutralising Actipearls. On the remainder of the packet the information tells us that they are made by P&G, they are high absorbency towels, and contact details for the manufacturer.Each towel is individually wrapped, and the pattern is a pale lilac and purple swirl pattern. The wrapper is easy to peel off, and this can be used to wrap the previous towel in.

=The Towel=The towels are wrapped individually, and you open up and the towel comes away from the outer wrapper, these towels have wings, and you just remove the sticky backing off.

=Comfort=The pad is extremely comfortable and has a high absorbent factor, running in the middle of the towel is a pale blue pattern, this is designed to absorb the liquid and this takes the liquid away from the top layer so it is away from the body, and into the towel.

=Long Fitting=At first the impression is that the length of the towel feels very long, but it is comfortable and once you are wearing it, you forget the length, and with the wings these have a strong sticky element, which keeps the pad in place.

=Thin=The towel is slim and again one of my concerns was is this actually going to work, I had visions that I was going to flood through in 30 seconds flat, but after a few visits to the bathroom, I was very impressed, and was then reassured that my initial panic was actually that, panic.

=Time=When it came time to change the pad, I was able to use the wrapper from the new towel to wrap the old one in and dispose of in a bin.

=My Overall thoughts=I found these and still do, to be one of the best on the market, I feel more secure when I have the "wings", and whether I have trousers, jeans, or a skirt, I know I do not need to worry about any unexpected leaks.

=Price and Availability=These can be purchased from many retailers, from supermarkets, Superdrug, Boots, to name but a few, price wise they are between £1.50 and £3.00 depending on the size of the pack and whether there is a promotion on.

Just to add there are some things in life we can scrimp on, but these are definitely one item that I won't scrimp on.

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I will use these until something better comes along.

I know that it is supposed to be safer to use tampons for longer than the normal 3 hours or so we used to be told but I would still not like to use one overnight. I am much less fussy about the brand of sanitary towel I use compared to tampons but still tend to use Always and will buy them over any other brand.

The big problem at night is the fact that I must wriggle around so much that a lot of towels are not suitable as they move too much as well, and do not offer a great deal of protection. Towels have become much softer over the years and these do feel gentle as the top sheet has a feel of cotton and they are also stronger.

I normally buy packs of 14 and they tend to cost around £2 although many places have offers on them so I pick them up from different places when I see them. Boots often have them as part of their 3 for 2 deals. More recently the purple packs have changed and have the message that there is now an odour neutriliser in the form of ActiPearls included and this is said to remove any odour that arises rather than jut covering it up.

They are longer than other Always products at 284mm, but they are just as thin. At 3mm it is amazing how it can be so thin and yet do such a good job. There is a sure guard strip in the middle and this is what makes them so safe as the fluid is locked in here.

My only concern with this is the fact that they do not have wings and while it might be psychological I would feel that they would be a bit more secure with them. These just have a sticky strip down the middle but in fairness they are secure and as I only sleep in them they tend to stay in place.

Another thing I particularly like is that they are individually wrapped so they are easy to carry around. It's handy to always have one in my bag and I don't need to worry that it is unhygienic because it is uncovered. It's also a great thing to wrap them in to throw away as it saves using up lots of toilet roll.

It says they are suitable for 8 hours use but I think that is pushing it a bit and I would say 6 is the most.

4 stars due to the fact that there are no wings.

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Would highly suggest to those with heavier cycles

Always ultra San towel

Often found sitting comfortably in their green and lavender packets in the midst of superdrug or boots, these are frequently at a fantastic price and in packs of up to 32 towels. Not traditionally my towel of choice, I decided to give them ago seeing highly positive reviews.

The individual implements themselves are quite thin, long, and sealed in a swirly lavender coloured wrapper. While the towel is quite thin, rather than other brands it's textured, making it highly absorbent. They also have a blue *core* that locks in liquid.

As a woman with a rather heavy flow, I frequently have to change towels. So these appearing to be extra absorbent as well as in high quantities really appeals. Like all sanitary towels, they have an obvious front and back as well as what is initially a light scent to them.

This is actually what put me off this brand, I'm already like many women, very aware already and paranoid about the smell my period emits. The fragrance of the towel actually really concerns me, I really do feel like everyone who gets in two feet of me can smell that I'm on!

Really like these, strongly suspect it's just me being a but nutty about the smell.

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Shop around for a bargain

12 pads - currently £2.20 at Boots or 220 Boot advantage points (but do shop around as they are often on offer)

Having quoted the price from Boots they are very often on offer in supermarkets for around £1 for the twelve pack.

Having always been a staunch fan of Tampax I was relatively gutted when I was told I would have to start using sanitary towels.

As such I did a bit of 'market research' when it came to buying them. I have tried other brands but they can sometime be uncomfortable (General size, shape, and the top layer can sometimes be on the 'plastic' feeling side).

However - Always have a top sheet that helps keep you feeling fresh, and comfortable (according to their marketing bumpf). It has a vaguely cotton feel, and I personally find that this help you to forget they are there.

There is a blue shape 'etched' in cotton wool substance that forms the towel that is filled with an absorbent core, which apparently helps keep liquids where they need to be. These towels are very thin - (although thicker than a panty liner) yet they really are effective.

The towels are dermotologically tested, and apparently the blue core helps to lock away odours (according to the marketing bumpf) however regular changing of any product should do the same.

I personally find the length to be beneficial night for extra protection, and I find wings help keep the product in place. However this can be a personal thing, and the extra length can make me feel more aware of the product through the day time hours.

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Easy to use, comfortable in use!

When it comes to sanitary towels I usually pick whatever up I know to be a decent brand. For years now I have bought Moxy as I like the quality plus the nice packaging of their products which at a time of feeling rubbish is always a nice added little bonus I think however when I recently ran out and couldn't find any on the shelves in my local Asda store I was left with an array of other ones to choose from and picked these up, for no particular reason but that they seemed a good price to me and I do know the Always brand that these are.

The Packaging:

These come (as far as I am aware!) in a 14 pack and a 32 pack (I opted for the 32 sized pack) and the plastic pack that these come in is green, lilac and purple coloured and on the front of it we are told that they are Always Ultra 'Long Plus With Wings' and that they have 'Odour Neutralising Actipearls' and the size is stated and that they are a P&G product and then on the rest of the packaging we are told a little bit about the product, that they are a high absorbency towel and contact details for the manufacturer are given. Within the pack each towel is packaged within a light lilac and with purple coloured swirly pattern on it very easy to peel off wrap.

The Towels:

Each towel is gently stuck onto a wrapper to which you gently have to pull it off and you are greeted with a long and fairly wide and not very thick sanitary towel. On there is a large white and light blue piece of paper stuck to the wings of the towel which again you gently peel off to reveal the sticky wings.

The pad is soft and highly absorbent due to perforated material rather than paper. It has a light blue pattern integrated into the pad which is meant to safeguard liquid that goes into it and keep it away from our skin.

This is a great, long fitting pad and its smooth and cotton-like to the feel and I can actually forget its there. The wings are a good size and sticky enough to stay in place till you chose to remove it which again is easy to do so and I find it stays in place easily. I was initially slightly concerned due to its thinesss but I had no need to worry about that at all and didn't get into any kind of a mess with these and of course when you've done with it you need to bin in rather than flush it.

Now these on the packaging also say that they will help combat nasty niffs which again is important right ladies..... and I'm happy to report that they do though course this is no excuse not to change them regularly!

All in all I found these to be of great quality and comfortable to wear. I liked the way they were packaged and certainly liked the long and thinness of them and all in all I can happily recommend them!

Available from all good supermarkets from between £1.50-£3.00 depending on the size of pack you go for and where from!

This review is also posted on Ciao under this same username.

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great protection

I generally use tampons but I also use sanitary towels towards the end of my period when it is much lighter or sometimes of a night or indeed as added protection during the first few heavy days of my period together with a tampon. I have used probably most of the always varieties in my time but one that I favour in particular is the Ultra Long pads that come in purple packaging. The always brand has always been the brand I tend to go for and I haven't really ever deviated from them which tells you that I am pretty happy with the protection on offer.

I tend to favour the Ultra Long but without wings because I find that the position you have to have the (winged) pads in order for the wings to wrap securely around your knickers is sometimes not high enough to offer complete protection and the benefit of these pads is that you can position them as high up as you need because you only have the sticky strip (once the protective covering is removed) that runs down the underside of the pad to worry about and I generally find that it is adequate to keep the pad in place without the need for the additional wrap around sticky tabs but this will be a matter of preference for each individual and also based on how active you are when using these pads. During this time of the month I tend to be less active and do less sports so don't worry about the need for extra security in terms of the pad moving about. The long length means that you have protection towards the front and towards the back so this gives an extra feeling of security which I like.

Another plus of the ultra variety is that the pad is relatively thin and not bulky so you don't feel too uncomfortable whilst wearing it. You of course do notice it is there but not as much as the maxi pads that always also do. The thickness of the ultra long is 3mm and the length is 284mm.

The ultra pads come individually sealed in their own wrapper which have a handy sticky tab on them so that you can then use it to roll your used pad in before disposal which is much nicer than just sticking a used pad straight in the bin (thank you to any men reading this who are sticking with it)! And remember folks DON'T FLUSH - flushed pads can end up 'in rivers and on beaches' and NO ONE wants to see that whilst walking their dog or taking a romantic walk do they?

I do find these pads are really absorbent and rarely have I had trouble with leaking. The ultra pads have a blue secureguard contours design to absorb as much as possible so you feel dry for a long time. They say up to 8 hours clean feeling but I would say personally this would be pushing it as I change my pads on average every 3-4 hours if wearing pads alone to continue feeling fresh. The design helps to draw liquid deep into the core of the pad which is said to help control odour. To a point it does although I do feel fresher and cleaner with tampons but some people can't use those so this design I feel is the closest you will get to feeling clean and fresh outside of tampon use. These pads are dermatologically tested and are quite soft on your skin with what always term 'a cotton like feeling'.

I paid £1.99 for a pack of 14 pads from Tesco and this product can be purchased in most supermarkets and chemists. There are often value packs offered so they are worth keeping an eye out for as well as special offers.

All in all I would recommend always as a trusted brand that offers protection during that time of the month that many women dread and I will continue to use these until after the menopause!!!!!